The veteran TV journalist spoke to ET about the new season of her 'Turning the Tables' series and wedding planning with her partner.
After announcing her plans to marry her longtime partner, Amber Laign, later this year, Robin Roberts has some important updates for her fans! The veteran TV journalist spoke to ET's Rachel Smith ahead of the highly anticipated second season of her Emmy-winning talk series, Turning the Tables, where she opened up about her partner's breast cancer battle, their wedding plans and the new installment.
Roberts, who has been with Laign since 2005, first shared that her partner had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and struggled with chemotherapy complications last April. Laign ended her radiation treatment in July, which Roberts took to Instagram to celebrate with fans.
"It was a rough year; her journey with breast cancer took some unexpected twists and turns but she is doing really really well," Roberts tells ET now. "Doctors said when it comes to treatment, it's like women and shoes -- they don't always fit -- and so they had to find the right fit for her with treatment."
After Laign's difficulties with her chemotherapy, Roberts shares that her partner's prognosis "is excellent" and Laign is "ready to start a new chapter as well."
A chapter that includes walking down the aisle!
The Good Morning America host announced the couple's upcoming nuptials in January by sharing a clip on Instagram from a conversation with motivational speaker and author Gabby Bernstein, where she discussed their decision.
"I'm hesitating because I haven't said it out loud yet... I'm saying 'yes' to marriage," Roberts said in the video. "We're getting married this year. It was something we had talked about, but we had put it off, she became ill, but it is saying yes to that, and that next chapter."
The post was met with lots of love in the comments, with tennis star Billie Jean King writing, "So happy for you and Amber! Sending all our love your way," and Loni Love commenting, "Come through!!!!! Congratulations.. I'll be the flower girl!!!!"
Roberts is keeping coy about specific wedding details, but shares that the pair already have a set date in mind for a ceremony this year. "I'm proud to talk about [it], I'm going to be a married women. Our families are so excited [and] the save the dates [are] going to be going out soon," she tells ET.
She adds, "[Amber] is my person after 18 years and that’s why when Gabby Bernstein was asking me about it at the beginning of the year, I raised my hand [and] I said, 'No, I'm meditating on the marriage, I'm not just looking to have a wedding day. I'm looking at the union.'"
"It is so exciting to know like, I've been with this person for 18 years and we're still excited and we still wanna be with each other and we still want to start this new chapter together," she gushes about Laign.
The only occasion that comes close to being as exciting is the March 15 premiere of Turning the Tables' second season.
Calling the show's Daytime Emmy win "unexpected and pure" joy, Roberts tells ET, "I know people say it's an honor just to be nominated [but] it truly was for our group just to be considered for an Emmy. But then to win? Oh, my youngins got up there on that stage... But this is what Turning the Tables is about. It's not just the women that you see before the camera, but these young, dynamic United Nations women behind the scenes. So I was very happy for them as well."
The host vows that season 2 of the talk series is a proper build-up on what was done in the freshman installment. Season 1 saw Roberts opening up and delving into some emotional topics with an impressive slate of celebrities including Jenna Dewan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Debbie Allen and Billie Jean King.
Season 2 welcomes guests such as Sheryl Lee Ralph, Brooke Shields, Dionne Warwick and Chloe Kim.
Roberts admits that her sit-down with Shields struck a particular chord and lingers in a way that still surprises her.
"You have an idea how someone is going to be or maybe how they will react, and as we kept talking you could just see her [thinking], 'No I'm not gonna say or do what people feel I should say or do. This is who I am. I'm comfortable with who I am,'" Roberts explains.
"And I just really appreciated that [she] kinda let down the barriers a little bit because we've been watching her since she was yay high and a lot of the women that we were talking to -- even Sheryl Lee Ralph -- [came into the spotlight as] a young actress," Roberts adds. "And so for them to show how they got from point A to point B... Success leaves clues, these are successful women and they want to share the clues and I really feel that those people that are watching, they are gonna come away with something of being empowered and uplifted."
Turning the Tables season 2 beings streaming on Disney+ March 15.
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